Honoring military members through The Veteran Art Project

Photographer Devin Mitchell has decided to pay a tribute to people who have fought in wars through “The Veteran Art Project” that puts people dressed in their military outfit face-to-face with their true identities using mirrors and Photoshop.

Being a member of the military is not something that you would describe as fun. Lots of people who have fought in wars often come back from deployment with post-traumatic stress disorder or with missing limbs. In general, they come back as different personas, while some do not return at all.

Veterans undergo a huge amount of stress that nobody wants to go through and sometimes the military is not the life they truly want. Photographers wants both to honor military people and to reveal their true identities using “The Veteran Art Project”.

The project consists of portrait photos of people serving in the US military while facing their true identities in the mirror. The series is available on Instagram, where it has gathered countless praises.

Artist Devin Mitchell honors military members through The Veteran Art Project

People serving in the military are often labeled in an unjust manner. This is why some would prefer that people really got to know them instead of judging them. Artist Devin Mitchell is aiming to tell the real stories of military men and women through photography.

The photos consist of the subjects standing in front of the mirror dressed in their military outfit or regular clothes. If they choose the military clothes, then the mirror will have them dressed normally and vice-versa.

“The Veteran Art Project” raises some important questions, as sometimes military members cannot express who they really are, thus forcing them to live a double life.

Devin Mitchell’s photo series could put soldiers in a new life, but in the end it is all about paying veterans the respect they deserve.

Transitioning from service to civilian is about “diversity, adversity, and triumph”

The photographer says that he wants to reveal the hard transition from being in service to becoming a civilian once again. According to Devin Mitchell, “diversity, adversity, and triumph” are the three important elements of this transition.

Devin added that he is aiming to portray the military members as entire persons and to make their stories known to the world. Moreover, the artist says that the photos are the messages of the military members, while his job is to “bring them to life”.

The goal of “The Veteran Art Project” is to compile a list of 10,000 photos detailing 10,000 soldiers. You can track the progress at its Instagram page.